Downtown Disney for 3 hours

[zaz]

Hi all,

My question is not about a resort; neither is it about a park by itself... so I thought I might ask here.

In February, we'll arrive at the Orlando airport at 6:30 PM and we have a few hours to kill before bedtime. We are a family of 4, including 2 girls of 12 and 3.

We thought that we may go for supper in downtown disney and then stroll around. If we arrived onsite at 8 PM let's say, what do you suggest we do? What to see? Where to eat? I tried to reserve the Rainforest café, but it was full (I am somewhat at the last minute) around that time. What is a must see? My youngest will be in a umbrella stroller, so it's OK if she falls asleep.

What time do the stores close?

Any help will be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[jeffrent]

Hi all,

My question is not about a resort; neither is it about a park by itself... so I thought I might ask here.

In February, we'll arrive at the Orlando airport at 6:30 PM and we have a few hours to kill before bedtime. We are a family of 4, including 2 girls of 12 and 3.

We thought that we may go for supper in downtown disney and then stroll around. If we arrived onsite at 8 PM let's say, what do you suggest we do? What to see? Where to eat? I tried to reserve the Rainforest café, but it was full (I am somewhat at the last minute) around that time. What is a must see? My youngest will be in a umbrella stroller, so it's OK if she falls asleep.

What time do the stores close?

Any help will be appreciated! Thank you!

I know I'm really looking forward to checking out Raglan Road. The food is supposed to be great and there is live music most nights.

The kids can easily kill an hour or more between the LEGO store and the giant Disney store there, and a nice treat is dessert or hot chocolate at the Ghiradelli shop.

 

[KerTggr]

I can't answer all your questions, but one question I have for you is where you'll be staying? Are you taking ME to the resort and then hoping to duck back out to DD? Depending on where you are staying there might be some dinner options there before going to DD. There are also quick-serve-type options at DD like Earl of Sandwich that don't require reservations. (Personally though, I'd suggest going to Raglan Road if you want a yummy dinner.)

You'll definately have some time to go to the stores but may not be able to hit all of them.

 

[zaz]

Raglan Road, something I hadn't noticed anywhere.

I'll be staying at the Fairfield at the airport. (but I'm almost reconsidering at this time with so many other options available i didn't know about at first) So we are thinking of cabbing to DD and back after the evening.

We are leaving for Cap Carnaveral in the AM from the airport.

 

[YukiPhnx]

If the reservations for Rainforest Cafe online is full, you can call them about available times. A friend of mine just came back from her trip there and she was able to be seated with just a walk-up at Rainforest.

The marketplace is a great place to spend a lot of time at. For sure your girls will love the Once Upon a Toy store and World of Disney. You can easily spend 2 hours in those stores.

The stores and restaurants close at 11pm, and the general area of Downtown Disney closes at 1am.

 

[GRUMPY D]

hope this helps , for dinner theres also t Rex , planet Hollywood , and a new quick serve chicken sandwich place ( used to be MC Donald's) , and don't forget to stop at ghirardellis chocolate shop for desert , and for fun with the kids theres dance party's , the Lego store , and I think its at word of Disney you can get a small box and fill it with my little pony stuff for like 10 to 20 dollars , and theres also the Harley Davidson store where you can take pictures of your family on two different motorcycles .

 

[zaz]

Thank you everyone. This is great advice! For for the restaurant and things to do! I'll have an idea where to go now.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Keep in mind that DTD is nowhere near the airport so that cab fare isn't going to be cheap. It would probably be cheaper for you to rent a car if you plan on driving and then just take that over to the Port and drop it off there the next day.

 

[zaz]

Clarabelle : thank you for the warning about the cab. My hotel told me it would be about 40 $ each way from the airport to DTD, so that's 80 $ return.

We have set up for a car service to come and pick us up at the hotel to go the port and return for 195 $ total.

So yes, for about 300 $, I could definitely save money by renting a car. BUT I'm a big chicken about driving in the states. Our insurance sytems are not the same and a few years back, I was rear-ended by a cop, which made me hit another car. I was 'stuck' in the states for 48 hours until the insurance cleared things up and I had a mark on my file for 2 years until the whole was officially sorted through the court. (I was not guilty and never had to pay a surcharge. but the process was painful) I wouldn't want to be miss my boat; knor would I to live with that anxiety again. So I'm paying for conveniance!

Would you know if the 40 $ airport to DTD is about right?

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Clarabelle : thank you for the warning about the cab. My hotel told me it would be about 40 $ each way from the airport to DTD, so that's 80 $ return.

We have set up for a car service to come and pick us up at the hotel to go the port and return for 195 $ total.

So yes, for about 300 $, I could definitely save money by renting a car. BUT I'm a big chicken about driving in the states. Our insurance sytems are not the same and a few years back, I was rear-ended by a cop, which made me hit another car. I was 'stuck' in the states for 48 hours until the insurance cleared things up and I had a mark on my file for 2 years until the whole was officially sorted through the court. (I was not guilty and never had to pay a surcharge. but the process was painful) I wouldn't want to be miss my boat; knor would I to live with that anxiety again. So I'm paying for conveniance!

Would you know if the 40 $ airport to DTD is about right?

Sorry to hear about the car accident. I can understand the hesitation about driving in another country. I have 2 siblings that live in Europe and even though they were born and raised in the US they have been in Europe for so long that even they are hesitant to drive over here anymore.

Yes, $40 each way sounds about right. Have you looked into just staying at one of the Disney value resorts for the night instead of at the airport? You could then take the Magical Express free to your resort and then the bus from your resort to DTD. (With your late arrival time though this may eat up precious time and may not be worth the hassle). There is a Disney bus that goes to the port from each resort but not sure what the current transfer fee is.

Whatever you decide, have a magical trip. Will you get to spend any time at the parks at all this time?

 

[zaz]

Clarabelle : Hi! Thank you for your advice and suggestion. My husband is not the holiday type. I get 5 weeks of vacation a year : he gets 2 and for the past 3 years, haven't taken any.

Therefore, 8 days this time is totally stretching it!! We are doing the 7 day carribean cruise all together as a family, I wouldn't ask for more. So no, no parks this time. So sad for me and the girls!

Have a good week-end.